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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23225932">Unexpected</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/HarleyJQuin/pseuds/HarleyJQuin'>HarleyJQuin</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Teen Wolf (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bad Friend Scott McCall (Teen Wolf), M/M, Past Rape/Non-con</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 11:48:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>15,167</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23225932</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/HarleyJQuin/pseuds/HarleyJQuin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Stiles and Jackson got bit instead of Scott.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Derek Hale &amp; Stiles Stilinski, Lydia Martin/Jackson Whittemore, Stiles Stilinski/Jackson Whittemore</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>224</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>748</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>101 Ways to Kill Scott McCall, Minions' writings</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter One</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Rape/Non Con tag refers to Canon Kate Argent actions towards Derek Hale.</p><p>Updates on this will be slow.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>January 2011</strong>
</p>
<p>“Come on Jackson, I know you hate algebra but the sooner you get this worksheet done the sooner we can play some X-Box.” Stiles tried to bargain.</p>
<p>Jackson gave Stiles a death glare and stated, “This is shit, when am I even going to use this shit as a lawyer.”</p>
<p>Stiles rolled his eyes and said, “We have this argument every single time you’re here for tutoring. You know you need algebra to pass the LSATs with a high enough score to get into a good school.”</p>
<p>They both looked up with panic on their faces as they heard the Sheriff yell out “Stiles!” from the bottom of the stairs. Jackson frantically waved Stiles towards the door. Neither of them had heard the cruiser arrive at the house.</p>
<p>Stiles left the room and he tried to look nonchalant as he walked down the stairs, “What's up Daddio?”</p>
<p>Noah wasn’t fooled by the nonchalant act for a second, he raised an eyebrow in question as he asked, “I’m just wondering why you are home, I thought you and Scott had plans to practice lacrosse tonight?”</p>
<p>Stiles shook his head and replied, ”I canceled our plans when I found out he hadn’t done any of his winter break homework.”</p>
<p>Noah sighed and he said, “Good boy, I don’t know what Mel is going to do if he falls behind again. So what are you up to? You looked shifty.”</p>
<p>Stiles gave his dad a wounded look and he asked, “Me? Looking shifty? Nah, just doing some extra credit work before school tomorrow.” </p>
<p>Noah narrowed his eyes and he quizzed Stiles by asking, “For which class?”</p>
<p>Stiles swallowed nervously and he said, “AP Algebra, don’t worry, I’m not planning another essay like the one I did on the history of male circumcision, even if it was worth the laugh and the credits it got me.”</p>
<p>Noah rolled his eyes and he chuckled as he said, “Thanks son, I would rather not repeat the parent-teacher conference that spawned. Your Econ teacher is best taken in small doses. Go on, finish what you’re doing. Are you cooking tonight or can I order pizza?”</p>
<p>Stiles frowned and he said, “No pizza. I will finish up the worksheets I am working on and I will cook something healthy. You only get one cheat day and that was yesterday.”</p>
<p>Stiles headed back up the stairs but he paused when he heard the sheriff’s cellphone ring. He started to head back down when he heard the sheriff pick up his keys.</p>
<p>Noah called out, “Stiles?” He turned and he saw Stiles on the stairs, “I need to head back to the office, stay out of trouble and stay home please.”</p>
<p>Stiles nodded and silently turned to head back up the stairs. When he got back to his room he held his hand up to silence Jackson, Stiles waited until he heard his dad driving away in the cruiser before he spoke up, he ordered, “Quick, lift your legs onto the bed.”</p>
<p>Jackson moved because he was curious, Stiles was never this serious. Stiles dug around under the bed and pulled out the scanner he built out of spare parts.</p>
<p>Stiles set it up on the floor and flicked it on in time to hear, ‘it was just the legs, they were found just off a jogging trail in the preserve south of the old Hale house.’</p>
<p>Jackson had paled, “What the fuck. The legs of what?”</p>
<p>Stiles shrugged, “Dad told me to stay home so I would say a body, shhh that’s dad.”</p>
<p>They heard the scanner again, ‘Do we have a cause of death or do we need the top half of her first? Has the coroner been able to identify her?’</p>
<p>The boys looked at each other in shock.</p>
<p>The deputy relaying info responded quickly, ‘No sir, all he could confirm is that she’s in her 20s and initial forensics showed there didn’t seem to be any sign of the legs being moved. We called in the search dog teams from SF PD they should be at the preserve gates in about 20 minutes.’</p>
<p>Jackson looked down at his homework then he looked back up at Stiles, he said, “Let’s go search, it beats algebra any day.”</p>
<p>Stiles raised an eyebrow and he asked, “You, the DA’s son, are willing to risk being caught in the preserve while they are searching for a body?”</p>
<p>Jackson nodded, and he clarified, “Half a body. Come on, you know you want to go. I won’t even complain if you want to call your wannabe siamese twin.”</p>
<p>Stiles shook his head and he said, “No. Scotty needs to actually finish his homework. He refuses to accept any help from me so he doesn’t get to come out and play. Plus I don’t want to listen to you two fighting the entire time.”</p>
<p>Jackson shrugged and he asked quietly, “Won’t he be pissed if he finds out you left him behind?”</p>
<p>Stiles stared at Jackson and he said flatly, “He won’t find out, because if he does the first thing he will do is run to spill the beans to Mama McCall. The only time he doesn’t tattle is when he is in on the adventure or the secret. Even then it's 50/50 if he will spill the beans because he can’t keep his mouth shut.” Stiles stood and pocketed his cellphone and the keys for Roscoe, he turned to Jackson and he asked, “You coming?”</p>
<p>They both sprinted down the stairs both wanting to be first out the door. They headed out to the preserve after a quick stop at Jackson’s Porsche, which he had parked a few streets away from the Stilinski house, to drop off Jackson’s bag.</p>
<p>As they were wandering through the preserve Jackson asked, “So, what I don't get is why are you friends with McCall if he is a tattletale?”</p>
<p>Stiles shrugged and said, “At the start, we were lumped together, I was the hyperactive spaz no one wanted to be around and he was the kid who couldn’t breathe. Now though, to be honest, I am not sure. I love Scotty but lately, he has been getting evasive. I have barely seen him through the winter break. I think I have seen you more with our tutoring sessions. I am not sure if you heard me talking to dad earlier but we had plans tonight to do some last-minute lacrosse practice so he can finally make first line,” Stiles ignored Jackson's incredulous snort with that statement, “but he canceled saying his mom found out his winter break homework wasn’t done. Except he cried off a few of our plans saying he was getting his homework done…”</p>
<p>Jackson rolled his eyes and said, “McCall never could think up a good lie. We both know this so meh. So how’s the investigation into my bio parents going?”</p>
<p>Stiles frowned and he haltingly said, “It’s going, well, weird.”</p>
<p>Jackson stopped walking and he asked, “Weird how?”</p>
<p>Stiles was walking but stopped when he realized that Jackson was no longer beside him, he turned and explained, “Weird in that the one mention of a baby around the time of your birth in the police files is marked as classified and it was marked that way by Talia Hale.”</p>
<p>Jackson looked flummoxed and he asked, “The Hale family?”</p>
<p>Stiles nodded and he said, “Yeah, so… weird. Even using dad’s login didn’t unlock the files.”</p>
<p>Jackson started walking again, slower though as he thought through the problem, he explained, “I think she was the DA before my adoptive dad. He was the assistant DA before the fire.”</p>
<p>Stiles walked beside him and bumped his shoulder in a show of support, he said, “I am not about to give up at the first hurdle. I am looking into what happened around the date of the locked files to see if I can narrow down other cases that may be related so I can use other sources to get info.”</p>
<p>Jackson pulled Stiles into a half hug and he mumbled a quiet, “Thanks Sti.”</p>
<p>They walked quietly deep in the preserve for another ten minutes, partly looking for half a body, but also both thinking of school tomorrow.</p>
<p>Stiles cleared his throat and he murmured, “I don’t want to protect Scott anymore.”</p>
<p>Jackson perked up at this and he asked, “So no more hassling you instead of Scott when he’s being a douche?”</p>
<p>Stiles nodded sadly, he explained, “It’s clear he's distancing himself from me for whatever reason. I have stuck up for him and protected him ever since we got lumped together in elementary. If he’s not man enough to just tell me we are no longer friends, then I am done protecting him from his own stupid behavior.”</p>
<p>Jackson glanced at Stiles and he said, “I will still have to hassle you if you hit on Lydia though. People will expect it.”</p>
<p>Stiles laughed but it held no mirth, he glanced up at Jackson then fixed his focus back on the ground, he considered how to respond then he snarked, “You mean you didn’t recognize that it was a front, it was a way to force you to hassle me in order to deflect your attention away from Scotty.”</p>
<p>Jackson looked up sharply and he demanded, “Force me?”</p>
<p>Stiles smirked and he said, “Ever since we restarted our friendship and we agreed to keep it quiet you have refused to keep up your end of the bargain at school. I have had to push you into every confrontation, do you have any idea how hard that is when you are around Lydia?”</p>
<p>Jackson nodded and he confirmed, “Sorry. I had a feeling it was a front though, but I suspected it was more a reason for you to hide.”</p>
<p>Stiles frowned and he asked, “Hide? From what?”</p>
<p>Jackson grinned and he replied crudely, “From your utter aversion to anything pussy related.”</p>
<p>Stiles shoved Jackson as he laughed out, “Rude much.”</p>
<p>Jackson shoved him back and he asked, “Am I wrong though?”</p>
<p>Stiles looked away as he shook his head. He quietly answered, “No.”</p>
<p>They looked around as they heard a rustling nearby followed by a low growl. Stiles reached out and grabbed Jackson’s arm and started pulling him behind him. He was too slow however and the creature, a large hulking beast jumped out and knocked them both to the ground. </p>
<p>It stood over them and glared at them from blazing red eyes, it put a misshapen paw on both of their chests, as they lay side by side, it’s hot breath on their faces, bloody drool slowly dripping from its huge jaw. </p>
<p>They froze as it sniffed around their necks, Jackson whispered, “Stiles? What do we do?”</p>
<p>Stiles looked at Jackson with fear in his eyes and he whispered back, “I don’t know, my self-defense lessons didn’t cover whatever the fuck this is.”</p>
<p>The beast twisted around and bit them both on the side above their hips while still pinning them to the ground. Once it was done with the bites and it saw red blood staining their sides it slowly slunk backward and it sat calmly just watching them.</p>
<p>As soon as they were free, Stiles and Jackson both scooted back until they hit a tree. As they sat and got their breathing back to normal Stiles felt his side and gulped as he felt the blood, warm and sticky on his hand. He whisper-shouted at the creature, “What the fuck dude.”</p>
<p>The creature stared back at them impassive for a few minutes until it suddenly flinched and stood, the boys saw it turn it’s head as if it was listening to something off in the distance, it flared it’s crimson red eyes at them before it whimpered a garbled, “Help me…. Please…” before it took off running into the forest.</p>
<p>Jackson and Stiles looked at each other before they scrambled to their feet, Stiles pulled out his phone and turned on the flashlight, he pulled up Jackson’s shirt and checked the wound on his side. He commented, “It’s stopped bleeding but we should probably get home and clean out the wound.”</p>
<p>Jackson snarked, “You think? We have tryouts are tomorrow. How the hell are we going to do tryouts with gaping bite wounds on our sides.”</p>
<p>Stiles rolled his eyes and said sarcastically, “Like Coach won’t name you team captain just for turning up to tryouts. Let's head back, I don’t really want to be roaming while that thing is loose and we have a clumsy sized first aid kit at home.”</p>
<p>Jackson nodded in agreement and they turned and they headed back to the Stilinski house, it was slow going as the wound on their sides would pull when they tried to move too fast. When they were nearly back at the Jeep they heard the distant barking of the search dogs and they sprinted for the Jeep trying to ignore the pain as they didn’t want the dogs to pick up their scent and chase them down. The sheriff would kill them both for being in the preserve during a search.</p>
<p>On the drive back to the Stilinski house Jackson asked, “Won’t your dad notice the missing first aid supplies?”</p>
<p>Stiles shook his head and he explained, “Nope, it’s my job to make sure the kit is stocked properly since it’s usually me using it.”</p>
<p>They pulled up at the house but as they were walking up the stairs to the front door Jackson patted his pockets out of habit and he exclaimed, “Fuck!” </p>
<p>Stiles unlocked the door and looked back at Jackson in confusion and he asked, “What? No, never mind, get in here before one of my nosy neighbors rings Dad to report me coming home after curfew with a boy.”</p>
<p>Jackson hisses to Stiles as he walks in the door, “My keys are missing, I must have dropped them!”</p>
<p>Stiles facepalms and he asked, “Do you have a spare set?”</p>
<p>Jackson nodded and said, “Sort of, I have a spare car key in my locker at school, I will need to find my keyring or replace the house keys quietly.”</p>
<p>Stiles said, “We can go search the preserve before tryouts to find your keyring. We both have study-hall at the end of Mondays. Come on, let's go get cleaned up, the blood is starting to itch.”</p>
<p>They both crammed into the bathroom and Stiles pulled out the mega-sized first aid kit he had stored under the bathroom sink. He said, “Right, take off your shirt, it’s pretty torn as it is.” Jackson grumbled but he pulled off his shirt, not his favorite but still a waste of a good button-down.</p>
<p>Stiles got out a washcloth and he cleaned up the wound on Jackson’s side. He was not sure but he could have sworn that the wound was bigger than that when he checked it in the preserve, he internally shrugged, it must have been all the blood making it look worse than it really was. He taped on some gauze and stood before he quietly asked, “Will your parents notice if you don’t go home tonight?”</p>
<p>Jackson crossed his arms across his bare chest and he leaned back against the sink as he said sardonically, “They barely notice me when I am there, I doubt they will even comment on it.”</p>
<p>Stiles moved beside him and nudged his shoulder in reassurance, he said, “You know where the spare room is, grab something to wear from my closet and we will do an early morning run to the school to grab your key from your locker so you can grab the Porsche. With the search going on Dad will probably catch a nap at the station and won’t even know you’re here.”</p>
<p>Jackson awkwardly gestured to Stiles side as if asking if he wanted help, Stiles waved him away laughing, “I got this, go get ready for bed, I will set the alarm so we can be at the school when it’s unlocked.” As Stiles turned away to clean his own wound he muttered to himself, “I doubt you want anyone seeing you arriving with Spazlinski.”</p>
<p>Jackson pulled on his arm to turn him back around, he angrily stated, “Hey, that's not fair, I didn’t start that damn name, your so-called BFF did.” Jackson saw the look of shock on Stiles' face and he said, “Let's make a deal, no more secret friendship, no more hiding our friendship from Scott or Lydia.”</p>
<p>Stiles nodded his agreement and he silently turned back to the sink, Jackson snatched the fresh washcloth from the side of the sink and he started to clean Stiles bite wound, returning the favor by taping it up with gauze before they packed up the kit together and left the bathroom to pick out something to wear for sleep. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter Two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks to @myredturtle for their help with the chapter.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>January 2011</strong>
</p>
<p>The next morning the boys were up early, Stiles’ prediction ran true and a message had come through on his cellphone overnight letting him know that his dad would be working through and to stay safe.</p>
<p>Stiles walked through to the spare room after he had showered and dressed in his usual baggy plaid layers to wake Jackson since he was still fast asleep. He shook Jackson gently so as not to jostle his bite wound. “Jacks?”</p>
<p>Jackson opened his eyes and moved to sit up but stopped when he felt the wound on his side pull. “Stiles? What’s going on?”</p>
<p>Stiles sat on the side of the guest bed and showed Jackson the text. He asked, “Are you ok if we just go to school together and pick up your car on the way out to the preserve after school?”</p>
<p>Jackson shrugged and said, “Sure, why not. You prepared for the drama that may start with our friends?”</p>
<p>Stiles smirked and said, “Bring it! Feel free to raid my closet and have a shower.” He saw Jackson screw his face up at the closet comment and he chuckled, “Not everything I own is plaid Jacks, you might be surprised. Come down when you're ready for breakfast.” He stood and he headed to the kitchen.</p>
<p>Jackson called out, “Hey Stiles? What about my bag?”</p>
<p>Stiles turned at the doorway and smirked, “Oh that’s easy, I can break into the Porsche I just don’t know how to hotwire a car as new as yours yet.”</p>
<p>Jackson’s jaw dropped, and he asked with no small amount of incredulity in his voice, “Since when do you know how to break into cars?”</p>
<p>Stiles walked away shaking his head, as he walked down the stairs he yelled, “Breakfast will be done in 20 minutes Jackson. Get moving.”</p>
<p>Nineteen minutes later Jackson sprinted down the stairs when he could smell bacon cooking. Stiles turned as he walked in and he gestured to the table as he said, “Have a seat, it’s nearly done.”</p>
<p>Jackson looked over at Stiles and he asked with a bit of confusion lacing his voice, “You have a lot of secrets don’t you? There was barely any plaid or anything that would be considered typical Stiles in your closet.”</p>
<p>Stiles sighed and he agreed, “Yep. I grew out of the plaid phase in middle school but if I wear any of what I prefer around Scott he bitches for the entire day that I need to stop trying to be you. Its easier to just wear the plaid and the baggy layers than listen to the constant putdowns.”</p>
<p>Jackson leaned forward and started to bang his head repeatedly on the table. He looked angrily up at Stiles and he demanded, “After breakfast, I think we should go upstairs and get you dressed in something you would prefer to wear rather than in something Scott will accept.” He saw the stubborn look appear on Stiles' face and spoke up before Stiles could disagree, “Look, he blew you off for the entire winter break saying he was doing homework right? He kept blowing you off like he does all the time. We have been friends for years Stiles, and while his blowing you off works in my favor since we can hang out more often, I have seen that he treats you like shit and it worries me. It's ok for him to have other friends but he acts like a jilted lover if you do. So how about you take care of you, stop worrying about what he thinks, and let whatever happens, happen?"</p>
<p>Stiles nodded mutely and he quietly turned around to plate up breakfast, he had a lot to think about... and he was feeling seriously hungry after their late-night excursion so he had made them a huge breakfast of bacon, eggs, and hash browns.</p>
<p>Jackson saw the open packet of brussel sprouts on the counter and he looked at Stiles with a raised eyebrow in question. </p>
<p>Stiles chuckled with a truly evil smirk on his face when he saw what Jackson had seen and he explained, “I use it to disguise the bacon. If I don’t Dad eats it all and its bad for his cholesterol levels.”</p>
<p>Jackson shook his head and he said, “That’s just evil Stiles. Won’t he just go to the diner for breakfast anyway?”</p>
<p>Stiles swallowed his mouthful and he said, “I have several deputies blackmailed into spilling the beans if he has diner food more than a few times a week.”</p>
<p>Jackson smirked as he got up to put his plate in the dishwasher, he commented, “He’s going to catch on Stiles. He’s a good cop, David’s ranting tells me that.”</p>
<p>Stiles stood to join him at the sink. He asked, “You ready to go? We’re going to be late if we don’t leave soon.”</p>
<p>Jackson pointed to the stairs and he reminded Stiles, “You said you would get changed into clothes you were comfortable in. I was thinking skinny jeans and that dark grey button-down I saw in your closet, roll the sleeves up to your elbow, and maybe put your glasses back on?”</p>
<p>Stiles turned and he asked, “What about tryouts? I can’t wear my glasses on the field.”</p>
<p>Jackson shrugged and he suggested, “Take your contacts kit and put them in before practice, or stop in here on your way back to practice after we go looking for my keys?”</p>
<p>Stiles nodded and he thundered up the stairs to get changed. He came back down looking lithe and very put together a few minutes later. Jackson looked him over critically and motioned for him to turn. </p>
<p>Stiles, ever the smart ass, sassed it up and did a catwalk turn as he walked past Jackson. He raised his eyebrow as if to ask for approval as he twirled with a chuckle.</p>
<p>Jackson nodded in approval and followed him out to Roscoe. They made a quick stop at the Porsche to pick up Jackson’s bag. Jackson was a bit surprised by how fast Stiles was at breaking into his car. He spent a few minutes putting some product into Stiles' hair giving it a just got out of bed tousled look. He was happy that Stiles hadn’t done his typical holiday buzzcut.</p>
<p>As they headed to the high school Jackson gave Stiles a hard look and he demanded, “So, you promise, no avoiding each other at school, no more secret friendship.”</p>
<p>Stiles glanced over while he waited for the lights to change and he nodded, “Yeah. Are you happy to back me up if Scott goes full douche?”</p>
<p>Jackson nodded and he bargained, “Sure thing, as long as you help if Lydia goes full bitch.”</p>
<p>Stiles smirked, “She barely knows I exist so… sure thing, as long as I no longer have to pretend I am crushing on her.”</p>
<p>Jackson was about to reply with a snarky comment when he noticed all the flashing lights in the school parking lot. He glanced across at Stiles who had noticed the sheriff’s cruiser was parked in the mass of party lights. As Stiles was concentrating on parking Roscoe in the full parking lot, he asked nervously, “Surely someone would have found her top half at the school before her legs given they were in the preserve, even during the weekend.”</p>
<p>Stiles nodded absently as he got out of the Jeep. He saw his dad across the lot and he beckoned Jackson to follow him.</p>
<p>As the teens approached the sheriff’s cruiser Stiles took careful note of the ambulance by the lacrosse locker rooms. He waved towards the mass of emergency vehicles as he walked over to his dad and he called out, “Hey Daddio, what’s going on?”</p>
<p>Noah’s heart sunk, he had been futilely hoping Stiles would head straight into the school since he seemed to be running a bit late. The first warning bell had already rung for homeroom. He moved to stand between the boys and their view of the lacrosse field.</p>
<p>“Stiles, Jackson? Shouldn’t you both be in homeroom?” Noah asked hoping to put Stiles off.</p>
<p>Stiles waved the question away and he asked, “Why is the ambulance on the field?”</p>
<p>Noah sighed, “I shouldn’t be telling you this but I think it will be worse if you hear it later at the planned assembly. Finstock found a student had passed away on the field when he was unlocking the field gates this morning.”</p>
<p>Stiles paled and he asked almost inaudibly, “Who? Who was the student, Dad.”</p>
<p>Noah took a deep breath and he confirmed, “I’m sorry son. It's Scott. It looks like he had an asthma attack on the field and his inhaler and his phone were both in his bag on the bleachers.”</p>
<p>Stiles' knees buckled and Jackson was quick to catch him and pull him into a tight hug as Stiles had silent tears rolling down his face. Noah approached and put a hand on Stiles back to comfort him. </p>
<p>Stiles struggled out of their grasp and he started to walk towards the field. Noah moved fast to intercept him and he put a hand out to stop him. “Stiles,” He said gently.</p>
<p>Stiles looked mulish as he said loudly, “No! I want to see him, I need to see him, let me past.”</p>
<p>Noah shook his head, he pulled Stiles into a hug and quietly whispered, “No kiddo, no you don’t need to see him like this.”</p>
<p>Jackson saw that Stiles was falling apart and he moved in to join the hug.</p>
<p>Noah murmured to Jackson, “Can you get him home and keep an eye on him? I can get your dad to call the school for you.”</p>
<p>Stiles stood straighter and he moved out of the hug and he shook his head, “No! I will be fine. I can leave during study hall at the end of the day since I am sure tryouts will be canceled today.” He knew Jackson would be in trouble with the Whittemores if he missed school, even if the Sheriff called to excuse him. While the sheriff was aware of their secret friendship the Whittemores did not and would not be happy about it, they did not approve of the Sheriff or his 'wayward son'.</p>
<p>Noah put his hands on Stiles' shoulder and he asked quietly, “Are you sure kiddo?”</p>
<p>Stiles nodded stubbornly, he looked at his phone as he asked, “Can you keep me updated? He was supposed to be at home doing his homework, remember, I told you last night I canceled our practice session, he promised me he would stay home doing his homework.” </p>
<p>Noah nodded, “Yep I remember, I will keep you updated, I am going to go check on Melissa, I had Deputy Graeme head over and break the news about half an hour ago. Then I need to head back out to coordinate the search parties. Let me know if you head home earlier than study hall ok?”</p>
<p>Stiles nodded, he wiped away his tears and looked at Jackson. “Let’s go, we should head to homeroom and explain why we are late.”</p>
<p>Jackson pulled him into a half hug, he explained quietly, “I am sure they are already aware you will be late. Mine already knows I have Coach for homeroom and he saw us approach your dad as he walked into the school.”</p>
<p>They headed into the school with a quick wave to Noah as they left. Stiles turned walking backward and he called out a quick “Stay safe dad,” as he was about to enter the school doors.</p>
<p>Jackson waited outside Stiles’ homeroom class as they had Chemistry together next. He also wanted to have a quick word with Danny to ask him to keep an eye on Stiles in the AP classes he shared with Stiles.</p>
<p>When Stiles ducked in to talk to his homeroom teacher as the bell rang, Jackson pulled Danny to the side as he left the classroom. Danny jumped when he was grabbed as he was distracted by giving Stiles' new look a lingering once over.</p>
<p>Danny frowned as he demanded, “What's going on Jackson?”</p>
<p>Jackson sighed, he glanced into the classroom to make sure Stiles was still busy before he asked, “Do you have class with Stilinski 3rd period? I think he has AP Trig with McGuire.”</p>
<p>Danny slowly answered with a nod before he asked suspiciously, “Yeah, why?”</p>
<p>Jackson checked on Stiles again, an action that did not go unnoticed by Danny before he answered, “I need you to keep an eye on him, its the one period we don’t have together today. Also, can you sit with him in Chemistry? You know Lydia will pitch a fit if I try to sit away from her.”</p>
<p>Danny raised his eyebrows and he asked, “Again, why?”</p>
<p>Jackson gave Danny a speaking look and he asked in return, “What do you know about the party lights in the parking lot?”</p>
<p>Danny chuckled and with his dimples, on full beam, he answered, “Did you forget who you’re talking to? I know there was a body found on the lacrosse field by Finstock, about all I don’t know is how or who.”</p>
<p>Jackson murmured, “It looks like it was an asthma attack. His inhaler and phone were both on the bench in his bag.”</p>
<p>Danny looked up, stunned as he glanced at Stiles and he saw the red-rimmed eyes and the effort it was taking to hold himself together as he talked to the homeroom teacher. He took in the brief glances to Jackson as if Stiles was making sure he was still there waiting. He looked back at Jackson and he asked, “McCall?”</p>
<p>Jackson nodded, “The sheriff asked me to take him home and keep an eye on him but Stiles refused, he knew if the sheriff contacted my parents that I would get into trouble for skipping classes, no matter what the reason. He doesn’t want his dad to worry while he’s so busy with that search in the woods so he's hell-bent on sticking it out at school today.”</p>
<p>Danny looked at Jackson a bit confused. “Jackson, I have to ask, since when are you and Stilinski friends?”</p>
<p>Stiles walked up to Danny and Jackson with a bright, but obviously fake smile and as he put his arm over Jackson’s shoulder, he looked at Danny and he said, “Since what, Pre-K?”</p>
<p>Jackson nodded and he agreed, “Sounds about right, we have just been secret friends since 3rd grade so McCall didn’t get upset. He doesn’t… didn’t share very well.” Jackson turned and pulled Stiles into a hug and he murmured, “Sorry.”</p>
<p>Stiles discretely wiped his eyes and he joked, “I know we were expecting epic levels of Scotty drama today, just not like this.”</p>
<p>“Sorry guys, I need to get to class,” Danny said apologetically as he headed off towards his Government class with a wave, “I’ll meet you at your locker Stiles so we can go to Chemistry together, I can try and head of Harris’ douchebaggery?”</p>
<p>Jackson nodded while he gently pushed Stiles towards their English class, they made it just in time. Stiles walked in with a barely-there glance to Scott’s usual seat, Jackson steered him to the front of the class so the desk wasn’t front and center in Stiles view.</p>
<p>Mr. Rosenbaum glanced at Stiles then at the empty seat in the middle of the classroom and he decided to leave Stiles alone for the lesson. The entire school knew that Scott and Stiles were practically attached at the hip. He wasn’t expecting that Jackson would be taking care of Stiles.</p>
<p>While Mr. Rosenbaum was writing the book they would be covering this semester on the blackboard, Kafka’s Metamorphosis, Jackson and Stiles both heard a cell phone go off. They both glanced at each other before looking at Mr. Rosenbaum who had an almost militant zero-tolerance policy on cellphones in class. They looked at each other more than a bit confused when he didn’t react at all. Stiles wrote on his notepad ‘you can hear that?’ And he angled it towards Jackson. </p>
<p>Jackson nodded and wrote on his own notepad, ‘just us?’</p>
<p>They both heard a girl answer the phone and still, Mr. Rosenbaum didn’t react. Jackson glanced around and noticed a girl on her phone outside. He tapped Stiles' foot and looked pointedly at the girl.</p>
<p>Stiles concentrated and could hear her talking about forgetting a pen while digging through her bag. He listened but couldn’t hear any shuffling of anyone looking for the person on the phone, he didn’t want to call attention to them by looking around like a demented meerkat, so he wrote on his notepad ‘no one else seems to have noticed, what the hell?’ Jackson shrugged and mouthed ‘later’, before they both turned their attention back to the teacher who was reading out a notice that the entire school was required in the cafeteria at lunchtime so the school principal could make an important announcement.</p>
<p>They both still had half an ear on the girl who was on the phone and they could hear though as the vice principal escorted the new girl to their classroom. He introduced her as Allison Argent before leaving her in the care of Mr. Rosenbaum. He absently motioned for her to take a seat and he continued with the lesson.<br/>
   </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Check out my tumlr: <a href="https://harleyjquinwrites.tumblr.com/">HarleyJQuinWrites.tumblr.com</a></p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter Three</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Posted in celebration of Emancipation reaching 1000 Kudos. Thanks to all who have read it and loved it enough to leave kudos. You all rock. Seriously!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>January 2011</strong>
</p><p>Stiles is hanging at his locker waiting for Danny after swapping out his books while Jackson approached Lydia who was chatting with the new girl, Allison. He was still a bit weirded out by the fact he could hear their conversation about Allison’s mom being a buyer for a boutique in San Francisco from a distance where that shouldn’t be possible. </p><p>He decided to test a theory and he whispered, “Jackson, I can hear their conversation.”</p><p>Jackson glanced up at him with his eyes wide in shock.</p><p>Danny approached Stiles’ locker and he asked, “What’s Jackson looking stunned about?” Danny was thrown when he saw Jackson react to his comment and he muttered to himself ‘what the hell.’</p><p>He looked at Stiles who had definitely heard his comment if his expression was anything to go by and he asked, “Shall we head to class?”</p><p>Stiles nodded and walked quietly beside him, Danny found the silence from the normally loud teen unnerving so he asked, “Are you ok?”</p><p>Stiles shook his head, he felt unable to verbalize how angry he was at Scott. He was pissed that Scott had lied to him again, he was pissed that even though he knew it aggravated his asthma was outside practicing in the winter on his own with his inhaler out of reach.</p><p>Danny was surprised by the anger he could smell coming from the pale teen beside him. He guided Stiles to a seat near the back of the Chemistry class, Jackson made sure he was sitting across the aisle from the pair so he could keep an eye on Stiles. He knew Harris could be brutal to the teen.</p><p>“So,” Danny asked after Harris got them started on an experiment, “Who’s the new girl?”</p><p>Stiles looked up from the chemicals he was mixing and he replied, “Allison. Umm Allison Argent. Sounds like she moved here from San Francisco.”</p><p>Danny raised an eyebrow and he asked, “Argent? Are you sure?”</p><p>Stiles glanced at Jackson who nodded in agreement. He confirmed, “Yep, definitely Argent.”</p><p>Danny huffed, “Fuck, that’s seriously not good.”</p><p>Stiles, annoyed with the level of vague snorted and he asked, “Why is that not good?”</p><p>Danny shook his head and he murmured, “Not here. Can we meet after school? I have a feeling it’s related to why I can smell blood on you and Jackson.”</p><p>Stiles hissed confusedly, “What the hell Danny.”</p><p>Danny just hissed back, “Not. Here!”</p><p>Jackson whispered under his breath, “Stiles, he can come for a walk with us when we go hunting for my keys.”</p><p>Stiles looked at Danny, partly to get an answer, partly to see if he also heard Jackson. Danny just nodded.</p><p>They dropped the subject and got on with the experiment. Stiles was wishing that it didn’t involve sulfur. He felt like he would never get the smell of rotten eggs out of his nostrils. He could see Danny also wrinkling his nose like the smell was strong but Jackson didn’t seem to notice. Something else to add to his internal ‘weird shit going on’ list.</p><p>At the sound of the lunch bell Stiles and Danny left AP Trig and joined Jackson at his usual table, Danny made sure to place Stiles between himself and Jackson as an attempt at a buffer from all the rumors going around the school.</p><p>Danny whispered, “What rumors are you hearing?”</p><p>Stiles gave him a flat look and he replied just as quietly, “Most of its BS but there is a lot of surprise that it wasn't an animal attack.”</p><p>Danny chuckled, “Seems odd for a sudden death in Beacon County to not be an animal attack.”</p><p>Stiles sarcastically replied, “Well it’s not like anyone would actually believe the old barbecue fork excuse around here, at least Beacon County went for something semi-believable with the high death count.”</p><p>Danny was about to reply but he was cut off by Lydia, who was accompanied by Allison, demanding, “I didn’t think you did charity projects, Jackson.”</p><p>Stiles barked out a laugh, he was about to reply but Danny who felt the anger pouring off the teen put his hand over Stiles' mouth to prevent the cutting reply he was sure was about to come. While he hadn’t been friends with the teen he had seen over the years that under the plaid nice guy exterior that Stiles could be an utter bastard when provoked.</p><p>Jackson gave Lydia a dark look and he said darkly, “That’s enough. Reign in the bitch or find somewhere else to sit. He just lost his best friend for fuck's sake.”</p><p>Danny removed his hand after Stiles had licked it and he gestured with a nod of the head to the doors when he noticed the principal and the vice-principal walk across the cafeteria with the guidance counselor following in their wake. The cafeteria grew quiet as they made their way to the front of the room.</p><p>The principal cleared his throat to get the remaining student's attention. Once the room was quiet he said, “As you may have heard a student was found deceased on the lacrosse field this morning. The student was Junior Scott McCall.”</p><p>There was a rise in the noise of chair shuffling as many of the students turned to stare at Stiles who just sunk down in his seat.</p><p>The principal cleared his throat to pull the attention away from Stiles. He continued, “Preliminary investigation by the sheriff’s department has determined his death appears to have been caused by a medical event. They have asked us to close the school for the afternoon so they can do a full scene investigation to confirm this and eliminate any suspicious causes.”</p><p>The vice-principal stepped forward and he explained, “We have organized for the buses to arrive after the lunch period is finished, if there are any students who are not able to leave or who have parents who are not able to get away to pick them up, the gymnasium has been cleared by the deputies and will be the location for the study hall we will be running for the afternoon. A new date for lacrosse tryouts will be announced by Coach Finstock once the lacrosse field is available to use.” He made eye contact with Stiles as he continued, “Mr. Spruce, the guidance counselor, is available for grief counseling if anyone needs it.”</p><p>Jackson nudged Stiles when he saw Stiles was no longer listening to the vice principal after that pointed comment, and he asked, “Your place first, or straight to the preserve?”</p><p>Stiles glanced at Danny who shrugged so he answered, “Preserve, we should find your keys and it will give us more time to search and we can see if we can figure out what the hell happened last night.”</p><p>-x-</p><p>Stiles snarked, “So Jackson, I always wondered how you were able to pull off being such an asshole at school when you are the total opposite when its just us or when you are with your friends. After today I completely understand.”</p><p>Jackson frowned and looked over as he was kicking leaves and branches trying to find his keys, he asked, “What's to understand?”</p><p>Danny chuckled as Stiles answered, “Well, clearly you were channeling Lydia. She was in epic bitch mode today, first deciding that the new girl would be her friend regardless of if she wanted it or not just because her mom was a buyer for a boutique, can anyone say vapid and self-absorbed, then her performance in the cafeteria.”</p><p>Danny nodded, “Yep, she was in fine form today. I am glad that Jackson no longer has to be Douchey McDoucherson at school.”</p><p>Stiles nudged his shoulder and he said, “Hey now, let's not be hasty, there is always Greenburg. Coach will start looking for pods in the boiler room if Jackson stops being an ass to Greenburg.”</p><p>Jackson scowled and he stomped off looking off the trail for his keys. Danny and Stiles followed quietly behind him.</p><p>“So,” Stiles started as they neared the clearing. “It’s obvious whatever bit us last night did something pretty major. We can both hear more than we should, as we saw in the car park the bite wounds are healed.” He looked at Jackson, “Well, yours is nearly there. Have you noticed anything else?”</p><p>Jackson shrugged and commented, “All I have noticed so far is that I can hear and see better, no difference in smell.”</p><p>Danny snorted, “You should be thankful, an advanced sense of smell is hell in the locker room.”</p><p>Stiles turned so he was walking backward and he interrupted, “I can definitely smell more, like I can smell that one of you has mint mojito gum in your pocket.”</p><p>Danny pointed at Jackson and he said, “Definitely Jackson’s. I hate that gum, too strong for my taste buds.”</p><p>Jackson froze as they reached the clearing when he saw the man scowling on the other side. He nudged Stiles' shoulder to spin him around. What he didn’t expect was for Stiles to squeal when he spotted the figure and he watched as Stiles sprinted to the other side of the clearing and he pounced on the scowling man.</p><p>“DEREK!” Stiles yelled as he took Derek down in a pounce neither of them was expecting. </p><p>“Stiles?” The man, Derek asked, confused. “What are you doing here?”</p><p>Stiles lost all the color to his face as he sat up and he turned to Jackson and Danny, “Oh fuck. I think I know what it was that attacked us last night.” </p><p>Stiles stood and he started to pace across the clearing, he didn’t notice the other three were looking at him in confusion as he started to mutter to himself. He turned to Derek and he asked, “Is there a shift I haven’t seen? I know there is the rare full shift and the beta shift. Is there another?”</p><p>Derek frowned and he angrily gestured at the two boys who were slowly approaching, he snapped out, “Stiles! Did you forget we are not alone?”</p><p>Stiles waved it off and he said, “That's just Jackson and Danny.” The boys waved as Stiles said their names. Stiles huffed out, “Look, whatever bit me bit Jackson too and Danny is… something… not a wolf but something so I trust them with this. So spill.”</p><p>Danny cleared his throat and he said, “I’m a Kitsune, a type of fox shifter. If you want to get technical I am a Zenko Umi Kitsune, like my mom.”</p><p>Stiles raised an eyebrow and he flailed as he said, “See! So is there a shift I haven’t seen?”</p><p>Derek leaned in and took a good long sniff before he looked at Stiles then Jackson and he asked, “Can you describe what it looked like?”</p><p>Jackson shrugged as he answered, “Red eyes, freaking huge teeth, so so much drool.”</p><p>Stiles laughed and he shoved Jackson, “Focused on the important parts I see Jackson.” He turned to Derek and he asked, “Remember the Harry Potter movie we saw with your sisters before you went away, the Prisoner of Azkaban? The thing that bit us, it looked like the werewolf form they showed for Professor Lupin, but bulkier, like it’s on steroids.”</p><p>Derek rubbed the back of his neck, he looked nervous as he asked Danny, “Can you smell the change in them?”</p><p>Danny nodded, he said, “It’s more subtle in Jackson though and his wound is taking longer to heal.”</p><p>“Damn it!” Derek exclaimed, “First Laura goes missing, now we have a feral alpha wolf running around biting people.”</p><p>Stiles and Jackson look at each other, before Stiles said, “What do you mean Laura is missing?” At the same time as Jackson said, “We don’t think it’s willingly biting people.”</p><p>Danny looked between the three and he interjected, “Guys, talk later, can we just find the keys so we can get out of here. I am not comfortable roaming the woods knowing the Argents are in town. Chop chop!”</p><p>Derek pulled a set of keys out of his pocket and he held them up as he asked, “These keys?”</p><p>Jackson sagged in relief. “Yes,” he confirmed. “Exactly those keys, I dropped them sometime during the attack last night. It's all a little blurry to be honest.”</p><p>They all looked up at the sound of distant barking. Stiles looked at Derek and he asked, “Where are you staying?”</p><p>Derek flushed as he looked down and mumbled, “The house, same as Laura.”</p><p>Stiles rolled his eyes, “No,” he exclaimed, “Just no. We have a spare room you can use. Do you remember where I live?”</p><p>Derek nodded still refusing to look anyone in the eye.</p><p>Stiles walked into his personal space so Derek didn’t have a choice but to look at him, “Dude, it's up to you, but the room is yours if you want it. Even though you moved away, you are still pack to both me and dad, and… well… part of me needs to know you are safe. Please.”</p><p>Derek handed over the keys and he huffed out a quiet, “Fine, but only until I can figure out what’s going on with Laura. I need to go get my car from the house. I will meet you at your place.”</p><p>Derek melted back into the trees as he sprinted back to his old house. A house that used to be his safe place but no longer felt even close to ok. </p><p> Danny took that as a sign and he started making his way back to the Jeep. As they walked Stiles sent off a few texts.</p><p>To Daddio: Guest rooms busy, pack staying. FYI. Need you home tonight, please. It’s important.<br/>
To ScaryWolf: Time to come home, urgent. See you tonight.</p><p>When they got to the Jeep Stiles asked, “Danny, do your parents know…?”</p><p>Danny smirked as he interrupted before Stiles could finish, “About the Hales? The Argents? Wolves? Yeah Stiles, they know.”</p><p>Stiles looked at Jackson who seemed to understand the unspoken question and nodded slightly, before he asked, “Can you ask them to come over to mine tonight, I think we need to figure out what's going on. The more heads in the know the better I think.”</p><p>Danny nodded in agreement, “Neither of them are working tonight so I will ask them to join us.” He had a quick text conversation with his parents before he confirmed, “They can join us at 8, they will bring my little brother too.” He looked at Jackson and he asked, “I assume we won’t be involving the Whittemores?”</p><p>Jackson snorted and barked, “Hell no. You know that anything that makes me less than perfect is unacceptable in their books.”</p><p>Stiles motioned for them to get into the Jeep before he got in and started it. “Right,” he turned to look at Jackson and he asked, “Are you ok with parking the Porsche in our driveway now that we are no longer secret friends, or do you want to pick it up later?”</p><p>Jackson shrugged and he said, “The driveway will be fine as long as your dad doesn’t mind. Do we need to stop and pick anything up for dinner? Might as well make something tasty since it will be a bigger than normal group.”</p><p>Stiles shook his head as he headed toward Jackson’s overpriced hunk of misplaced affection, “I have some sauces in the freezer and enough pasta to sink a ship. I should be able to put together a pasta dish fairly quickly. In the meantime, we can do some more studying. You know Ms. Rolleston always has a pop quiz on the first week back. It’s almost legendary and you need to pass algebra with high marks.”</p><p>They pulled up at the Stilinski house with Derek pulling up a scant two minutes behind them. They first spent several hours studying ahead for all their classes with help from Derek who was a college freshman. Danny and Derek also spent time explaining what they knew about werewolves and what the pair could expect as they got used to the changes that were coming as their bodies accepted the bite. Mid-afternoon Stiles got a text from his dad confirming that he would also be home for dinner and to expect him around 8 pm after he wrapped up the days search parties. They decided early on that they would wait for the adults to arrive before discussing the attack and the Argents being back in Beacon Hills.</p><p>A quarter after seven Stiles stood to start getting dinner ready until they all looked toward the front door as they heard the door slam shut and heard a feminine voice yell out as it approached, “Oi, Stilinski, what was so bloody urgent? Oh…”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter Four</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>January 2011</strong>
</p><p>“Derek?” Cora asked hesitantly as she entered the living room.</p><p>Derek paled as he said, “Cora? But you died. Laura said you died.”</p><p>Cora sneered as she stood stubbornly in the doorway, “She lied. She forcibly cut my pack bond as I waited at the designated safe house. Why didn’t you come back before now?”</p><p>Derek snarled, “Laura. She ordered me to stay away from Beacon Hills and she used her strongest alpha command to force me to stay away from anything relating to Uncle Peter. I was able to come back to Beacon Hills when I felt her die, but I still can’t get near the hospital without my wolf going near feral.”</p><p>Cora rolled her eyes and she muttered, “Bitch,” as she launched herself at the brother she hadn’t seen in over six years to attempt to hug the stuffing out of him.</p><p>The newly reunited siblings settled on the sofa in the living room to catch up quietly as Stiles got dinner ready in the kitchen with help from Danny and Jackson, although Jackson was just there to provide snark and commentary. </p><p>Stiles was keeping half an ear out on their conversation and when he heard Cora comment about Stiles helping her find a new pack he muttered, “Don’t drag me into this, that was all Dad. I would have sent you to a less strict alpha. Ito is a menace.”</p><p>Cora stormed in and with her eyes flashing she demanded, “How did you hear that?”</p><p>Stiles glanced up and tried to look away from her golden eyes but he wasn’t quick enough to hide the responding golden flash of his own eyes. </p><p>Cora approached him and held his face in her hands as she asked, “What happened?”</p><p>Stiles shrugged as he pulled away to put the pasta into the boiling water. He said, “Me and Jackson were out in the preserve last night and we got bit by what Derek thinks might be a feral alpha. That’s why we are getting everyone here for dinner.”</p><p>Stiles turned to Jackson and he said, “You know where everything is, can you set the table for all of us plus Dad and Danny’s family.”</p><p>Danny suggested, “Why don’t we eat in the living room. It might be a bit more comfortable for the discussion we need to have.”</p><p>Stiles agreed, “Sounds good, Jacks just take the cutlery through and set it on the coffee table, I will set up plates for everyone in here.” He could hear the cruiser coming, although, with his new hearing he couldn’t quite tell how far away it was. He chuckled when he realized his dad was singing along to the radio. He looked at Danny and he asked, “Can you hear them yet?”</p><p>Danny nodded, “They are just behind the cruiser I think. I can hear your dad singing.”</p><p>Cora looked between them and she demanded, “What’s going on?”</p><p>Derek moved her out of Stiles’ way as he tried to get the pasta into bowls. He said, “They are going to explain everything once the sheriff and  Danny’s family arrive. Danny is a Kitsune. An ocean kitsune I think.”</p><p>Danny nodded in confirmation as he let his eyes flash a bright blue-green color. “Yep, me and my mom are Zenko Umi Kitsune. Or as Derek put it, Ocean Kitsunes.”</p><p>Danny gave Derek a pleased look as he commented, “Not many wolves look into kitsunes enough to know about the different types.”</p><p>Derek smiled shyly and he said, “I used to spend a lot of time with my Uncle Peter in the Hale Library. Peter knew the lore and legends of kitsunes fascinated me so he found me some really good reference books.”</p><p>Noah escorted the Mahealanis inside and Mrs. Mahealani said, “I used to have some lovely chats with Peter. I tried to visit him a few times at the hospital but his family restricted access.”</p><p>Stiles interrupted the discussion and he said, “Grab a plate everyone, let's go to the living room so we can do introductions. I think tonight is going to be a long night.”</p><p>Noah waited until everyone had grabbed a plate before he approached Stiles and he asked, “How are you doing with the news about Scotty?”</p><p>Stiles took a deep breath and he answered, “Honestly, I’m angry, really angry. He knew his limits but he always disregarded them. But we have a bigger problem right now which is why everyone is here. Grab a plate and head into the living room.”</p><p>Noah nodded and he grabbed a plate of the fettuccini that Stiles had put together for them all and he followed his son to the living room. </p><p>Stiles grabbed the last of the cutlery from the coffee table and he sat down between Jackson and Derek on one of the sofas.</p><p>Stiles asked, “Danny, how about you start the introductions.”</p><p>Danny nodded and he gestured to his parents and he said, “I am Danny Mahealani and these are my parents, Kazuko and Dean Mahealani, Kazuko is a Zenko Umi Kitsune like myself, Dean is a spark. My little brother is Jason and he’s 6 and we are still waiting for him to present as either a spark or a kitsune. It’s a 50/50 chance at this stage.”</p><p>Stiles turned to the Mahealanis and he asked, “Is there anyone here you don’t know?”</p><p>Kazuko said, “Unofficially no, but it would be good to get an introduction.”</p><p>Stiles chuckled, “Ok, so I am Stiles Stilinski, my dad Noah is the Sheriff of Beacon County. Dad is completely mundane but he is aware of the supernatural. My mother Claudia was the emissary for the Hale pack until her death.”</p><p>He pointed at Derek and Cora and he said, “These are Derek and Cora Hale, formerly of Beacon Hills. Cora has been away in L.A. since the fire and Derek has been with Laura until today.”</p><p>He then leaned on Jackson and he said, “Beside me is Jackson Whittemore, Danny's best friend, and he is here because he is part of what I have to explain tonight.”</p><p class="p1">Noah flailed his hand to indicate Jackson and Stiles and he asked, “I didn't think you were that close.”</p><p class="p1">Jackson stubbornly lifted his chin and he said, “We have been friends since Pre-K. We kept it a secret when Scott picked Stiles as his friend and got jealous when Stiles talked to others.”</p><p>Noah nodded and he asked, “So why are we all here.”</p><p>Stiles looked down at his hands and he said, “It would appear there is a feral alpha in the preserve. Jackson and I were both bitten last night.”</p><p>Noah moved to stand as he asked, “Are you ok? Why didn’t you go to the hospital? Why were you even in the preserve last night.”</p><p>Stiles waved him back and he nervously said, “That’s not important. We are fine, the bite marks have healed, well mine has, Jackson’s is taking a bit longer. It doesn’t matter, what’s more important at this point is that something is out there biting people.”</p><p>Jackson interrupted, “And it’s not willing.”</p><p>Derek said, “You mentioned that earlier, that you didn't think it was doing it willingly.”</p><p>Jackson explained, “After it pinned us down and bit us it sat back watching us which was creepy in itself. It then seemed to react to a noise in the distance, but before it left it pleaded for help.”</p><p>Derek asked, “Are you able to feel anything through the pack bond?”</p><p>Stiles shook his head, “I tried the meditation exercises I remember you used to do to check on pack members through the bond. I can feel Jackson fine but the one I assume is the alpha is just blank. Like there is definitely someone there but there is no steady emotion there. I get flashes but nothing I can hold on to.”</p><p>Derek commented worriedly, “That’s not good. The alpha should be the strongest one in your bond. The easiest to feel.”</p><p>Kazuko added, “Even if they are feral you should feel the insanity down the bond. It’s likely they are biting to gain strength to fight whatever is happening to them. There isn’t a lot that can suppress an alpha's emotions.”</p><p>Danny handed Jason his tablet to keep him entertained as he was looking a little bored as Stiles gathered up everyone’s plates and took them out to the kitchen.</p><p>Dean piped up, “There are strains of wolfsbane that would do it. I can’t see why though.”</p><p>Kazuko mentioned, “I have heard of hunters using a feral alpha to bite random people so that they will go feral themselves and give the hunters something to hunt. A way to justify their position so to speak.”</p><p>Danny glanced at Stiles and he commented, “The timing seems suspect.”</p><p>Noah asked, “Timing?”</p><p>Danny explained, “We had a new girl at school today. Allison Argent. From what I overheard she has been in town for a few weeks now. They moved here at the start of the winter break from San Francisco.”</p><p>Noah asked, “Any relation to Kate Argent?”</p><p>Derek whipped his head around to look at Noah in shock as he stuttered, “H…how do you know that name?”</p><p>“She was around before the Hale fire and she disappeared right after. She had used a fake name at the school but a detailed background check gave us a lead to find her real identity.” Noah explained, “I have been quietly investigating the fire since it happened. I know I can’t do it overtly as there are hunter spys in most police departments.”</p><p>Derek shifted around in his seat as he said, “I remember Kate mentioning her niece Ally. So it’s likely they are related.”</p><p>Cora asked, “How do you know her Der?”</p><p>Stiles leaned into him to give him comfort as Derek said quietly, “She worked at school as a substitute teacher, she was Katie Silva. She offered me private tutoring and I jumped at the chance. The whole Paige dying in my arms thing left me a bit of a mess and I was failing a few of my classes. I don't know why but she would ask questions about the house and the family and I just gave her the answers. Part of me knew I shouldn’t but I did and I didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with her asking about private pack details.”</p><p>Dean asked, “Did she ever give you something to drink during the tutoring?”</p><p>Derek shook his head, “No, we always met in the diner near the school and we ordered food there before we went to her apartment. I never ate or drank anything she offered.”</p><p>Dean said, “It’s possible she put the wolfsbane into your drink at the diner. White wolfsbane is easy to hide in liquid as it has no flavor of its own.”</p><p>Noah asked, “Derek, can you come down to the station and give me an official statement? It would add to the evidence I am slowly building against Kate Argent.”</p><p>Derek nodded and he said, “I told Laura I should but she got really angry and told me to stay away from Beacon Hills. I flew out here as soon as I could.”</p><p>Noah sighed, “It’s Laura that we are looking for isn’t it?”</p><p>Derek nodded, “I think so, I felt her pack bond snap a week ago. I think that the feral alpha might have killed her for her alpha spark.”</p><p>Noah asked, “Can we find him without bringing the Argents into it?”</p><p>Dean commented, “I can research and see if there is a spell that could help, there might be a way to use magic to trace the bonds but I will need to go through my books.”</p><p>Derek asked, “Would the Hale library be of any use?”</p><p>Dean spluttered, “Ummm yes! I thought it was lost in the fire?”</p><p>Derek shook his head, “Yeah no. Uncle Peter was paranoid. The real library is hidden in our vault behind some very impressive wards including a fireproof ward. The library in the house was all magically created and worthless duplicates.”</p><p>Stiles and Danny both said, “I can help!”</p><p>Jackson nudged Stiles with his shoulder and he murmured into his ear, “Nerd.”</p><p>Stiles snarked, “You do realize you will be helping whenever you can get free of Lydia.”</p><p>Dean commented to Noah, “It might be worth putting the fear of the law into the Argents. Remind them that hunting in the preserve is forbidden and that the wolves in Beacon County are under the protection of the sheriff’s department as it has always been.”</p><p>Noah nodded, “Not a bad idea. I can take my new deputy with me, pretty sure he is something other.”</p><p>Noah checked his phone before he asked, “What do we need to do for these two? Especially with the full moon approaching.”</p><p>Cora sat up and she suggested, “We could train them? Me and Derek I mean. I just need to go back to L.A. to pick up my stuff. I can transfer to Beacon Hills High School fairly easily. I am only pack-adjacent in Alpha Steele’s pack as a favor to Alpha Ito.”</p><p>Derek agreed, “I can request to finish out the semester online due to a death in the family. I brought all my things with me. I should be able to transfer my sophomore year to Stanford which isn’t too far to drive.”</p><p>Noah asked, “Won’t you need an alpha?”</p><p>Derek shrugged, “I should be ok. I think we will need to secure Stiles and Jackson in the vault for the full moon on Friday. The alpha will probably call them out if we don’t.”</p><p>Danny said, “Lydia’s big party is on Friday. You know she will be pissed if you miss it.”</p><p>Jackson huffed, “She’s already pissed with me for snapping at her in the cafeteria today. If I don’t turn up she will go running to my parents.”</p><p>Stiles scowled, “Fucking princess.”</p><p>Noah asked in confusion, “Don’t you have a crush on her?”</p><p>Stiles shook his head as Danny, Jackson, and Cora snorted. “Ha, no. She was an easy cover.”</p><p>Noah asked, “For?”</p><p>Danny laughed as he said, “For the fact that he’s gayer than I am but his best friend is… sorry was, homophobic as fuck.”</p><p>Stiles protested, “He wasn’t that bad.”</p><p>Jackson gave Stiles a pitying look as he said, “He really was Stiles. He was an absolute bastard to Danny after he came out.”</p><p>Kazuko asked, “Back to the point, what is wrong with Lydia telling your parents if you don’t attend? The few times I have met her she seemed nice.”</p><p>Jackson explained, “Yeah, she’s good at seeming nice. As for my parents, well, my adoptive parents expect perfection from me, that’s why my parents pushed me into dating Lydia. She is part of that perfect image, being seen at the right parties, playing the right sports, getting the right grades, perfect attendance. If I am not there she will play the innocent act to ask them where I was knowing full well we barely speak.”</p><p>Stiles said, “We are trying to find his biological parents but we are hitting some major roadblocks including classified files. Files that even you can’t access, Daddio. We looked into him applying for emancipation but he doesn’t have his own funds or a job so he can support himself so that nixed that.”</p><p>Derek looked at Cora who nodded, “We could go with you both to the party. We can keep an eye on you both and if we see your control slipping we can take you to the vault from the party.”</p><p>Danny said, “I can help too, kitsune are fast and just as strong as wolves.”</p><p>“Excellent,” Kazuko said as she stood, “We need to get going and get Jason to bed, Danny are you coming, or did you want to stay here with your friends?”</p><p>Danny said, “I want to stay, please. I want to help these two document their changes if that's ok Sheriff.”</p><p>Noah nodded his permission and he escorted the Mahealani family to the door. When he came back he looked at Cora and Derek and he said, “You two are welcome to the spare bedrooms as long as you need them, you are pack, you always will be. Stiles bed is big enough if you all need to puppy pile.” He ignored the grumbling from the kids at the puppy pile reference as he said, ”I need to go to bed, I need to be at the preserve early to coordinate the search parties. Stiles, we will be talking later about you wandering around the preserve at night.”</p><p>Derek smiled and he said, “Thanks, Sheriff. I will take Cora to L.A. tomorrow so she can drop off the car she borrowed and grab her gear. We’ll leave early so we can be back by the time school is out.”</p><p>After Noah went to bed the kids all sat around the dining table and Stiles and Danny both had their laptops out. Stiles was busy typing up everything he could think of that he had noticed about himself since yesterday into a document. Danny was busy typing up everything Jackson could think of on a separate document. Derek and Cora were discussing what they needed from the vault to help the teens with a crash course in control.</p><p>Stiles finished his list and he said, “Right, so for my senses, I have noticed I can hear, see and smell better. I haven’t needed my glasses since we got home but I will look into getting the lenses swapped out for glass as they would make a good disguise.”</p><p>Cora nodded, “Especially with Argents in town, they will be trying to figure out who was bitten.”</p><p>Stiles asked, “Can colored contacts hide the color change of our eyes?”</p><p>Derek and Cora both shrugged, Derek answered, “We have never tried it.”</p><p>Stiles ran upstairs and he found the novelty contacts he had bought for Halloween last year but never opened. He gave them a good clean in the bathroom with the saline solution he used before he put them in.</p><p>When he came downstairs Danny and Jackson were laughing. Stiles playfully snarled, “Shut up. I bought them for Halloween last year.”</p><p>Jackson smiled and he said, “Red is a good look for you. I’m still pissed you skipped out on my party.”</p><p>Stiles rolled his eyes and he said, “Scott refused to go and you know how stubborn he is. Anyway, I haven’t worked out how to flash my eyes yet so can someone flash theirs at me.”</p><p>Derek flashed his ice-blue eyes and Stiles felt his eyes flash in return. He asked, “I felt them flash, I can still see fine through the contacts though. Did it work?”</p><p>Derek nodded and he asked, “Can you get those in standard colors though, strong enough to hide the flash? The last time we looked into it they barely hid the flash.”</p><p>Cora looked like she had an idea and she pulled out her phone and she took a few photos of Stiles both with the flash and without. She quietly handed the phone over to Derek who looked surprised.</p><p>Stiles asked, “What? Why are you two grinning?”</p><p>Derek held Cora’s phone up and he took a few photos of Cora with her eyes shining gold and then he passed the phone to Stiles as he explained, “When we are on camera our eyes cause the lens flare. It tends to make it obvious that we are wolves. If we can get contacts that look like our normal eyes that work like this we can hide in plain sight.”</p><p>Danny spoke up, “Jackson’s eyes haven’t flashed, he also doesn’t have the heightened smell yet. He does have better sight and hearing though. Have either of you tested the rapid healing beyond your initial bites?”</p><p>Stiles asked, “Our what now?”</p><p>Derek chuckled as he said, “Wolves heal super quick. A broken bone usually takes about 30 minutes once the bones are realigned. You can watch cuts and gashes heal they are that quick. I thought you spent time in the library when your mom was meeting with our mom?”</p><p>Stiles nodded, “Yes, but I wasn’t allowed to read any of the fun books until I was older. I was only allowed to read what I could reach.”</p><p>Stiles started tapping at his laptop as he said, “So we need to test our strength and reflexes, also our healing. See if we are developing different there too.”</p><p>Derek rubbed the back of his head and he said, “I can’t think why Jackson would be different. From what I remember reading smell is usually one of the first senses.”</p><p>Cora suggested, “Why don’t you both document what you notice over the next week and we can do some research in the after the full moon.”</p><p>Stiles said, “After the funeral. I think that will probably be on Saturday.”</p><p>Cora asked, “Funeral? Is that what the sheriff was asking about before you came into the living room?”</p><p>Jackson said, “Scott was found dead at the school this morning. Looks like he was practicing lacrosse last night without his asthma inhaler and he had an asthma attack on the field.”</p><p>Cora jumped up and crushed Stiles into a hug as she exclaimed, “Fuck. You said last time we spoke that he had been pulling away. Is that why he was practicing without you?”</p><p>Stiles shook his head and he explained, “Nope. He kept blowing me off over winter break saying he had homework to do then he admitted yesterday when I called him about the lacrosse practice we had planned that he hadn’t done any of it. I got angry and canceled the practice session and I told him to get it done. I called Jackson and he came over and I helped him with his algebra homework instead.”<br/>   <br/>Derek moved and he shut the laptops as he said, “Bedtime. Come on, let's all go get ready and we can ‘puppy pile’ on Stiles bed.”</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>January 2011</strong>
</p><p>Derek and Cora’s trip to LA was uneventful and they were happily set up in the Stilinski’s guest rooms. Kali made them both promise to call her if they needed anything before they left for the drive back to Beacon Hills. It was an easy process to get Cora changed to Beacon Hills High School with Derek listed as her legal guardian.</p><p>While the siblings were in LA the search parties found the top half of Laura’s body deep in the preserve. They arrived back at the Stilinski house to find Noah waiting for them.</p><p>Noah stood from where he was sitting on the porch step and he said, “Derek, Cora, I am sorry to have to inform you, we found the rest of Laura’s body in the preserve a few hours ago.”</p><p>Derek asked, “Do we need to identify her?”</p><p>Noah shook his head, “No, I was able to do it as she had been training to be a deputy before you both left town.”</p><p>Derek looked at Cora and he said, “Why don’t you take your things up to your room, I need to talk to the Sheriff.”</p><p>Cora nodded, she had a feeling she knew what Derek wanted to talk about.</p><p>Noah took Derek through to his office and he asked, “So…”</p><p>Derek leaned against the wall and he took a deep breath before he admitted, “I wasn’t entirely honest last night about Kate.”</p><p>Noah asked, “Oh?”</p><p>Derek was unsure how to start now that he was here. He hesitated and he admitted, “A lot of our tutoring sessions didn’t involve much tutoring and we were in her hotel room bed a lot.”</p><p>Noah paled and he asked, “Are you saying… no… you must have been around 14, she didn’t.”</p><p>Derek nodded and with his gaze focused on the floor, “She did. I was pretty isolated from the pack at the time as it was after my best friend Paige died, my eyes had turned blue and to most wolves, that’s not a good thing. I was closest to Uncle Peter and Mom kept sending him away on longer more dangerous trips. Kate took advantage of my isolation, being there for me when the pack was shunning me. But Kate took things a lot further than I was ever comfortable with. I doubt I can be tested now for wolfsbane exposure but, honestly, there is no way I would give up pack secrets and I don’t remember telling her but she knew about the escape tunnels. She had them blocked off with mountain ash from the inside.”</p><p>Noah put his head in his hands, “Fuck. Ok, we need to find a way to get a mundane version of your statement to add to the file. One that leaves out the supernatural elements.”</p><p>Cora entered the room and she said, “I will be fine on my own while I wait for Stiles to get home from school. Why don't you two go to the station to sort out Derek’s official statement.”</p><p>Noah looked at Derek and he asked, “Sound good to you?”</p><p>Derek agreed and they walked out to the cruiser together.</p><p>Cora was reeling with what she had overheard and knowing her older sister she probably spent the entire time making sure Derek knew he was to blame for the fire. She would have to rope the boys into helping her pull Derek out of that destructive mindset. </p><p>Noah and Derek had been working out what to put in the statement to keep it truthful while omitting details like escape tunnels and mountain ash for an hour when the forensics tech came into the office to give her report on the evidence found on Laura’s body.</p><p>Noah asked, “Derek can you wait outside for a few minutes?”</p><p>Derek nodded and as he stood to leave the room the sheriff tapped his ear subtly so Derek knew to listen in. He settled himself with a notepad on the sofa outside the sheriff’s office and started listening in to the forensics report.</p><p>The technician, Evie Boland, reported, “It’s another setup. It looks the same as that mass killing seven years ago.”</p><p>Noah frowned and he asked, “Wasn’t that reported as an animal attack?”</p><p>The technician sighed, “Yes, it was closed fairly quickly by my predecessor. When I put the teeth impressions into the system that case came up as related as some of the teeth imprints match the bites found on Laura Hale and both cases had wolf hair found on the bodies.”</p><p>Noah said, “I can see by the look on your face there is a ‘But’ on the tip of your tongue.”</p><p>The technician nodded, “But, animal attacks leave saliva and there was no saliva on any of the mortal wounds on Laura Hale. Nor was there any saliva reported or collected in the wounds on the mass killing seven years ago.”</p><p>Noah frowned and he asked, “What do you mean on the mortal wounds?”</p><p>“There was saliva in the post-mortem wounds left by scavenger animals,” She explained, “Smaller bite marks and not deep enough to kill. Also the bruising around the fatal teeth impressions look similar to what you would see on someone who had been killed with a blunt object like a bat.”</p><p>Noah nodded in understanding, “So what you’re saying is that she was killed by a person using something that has the teeth of a large predator attached so the death is blamed on an animal and they get away with murder?”</p><p>Derek knocked on the door and entered the room when Noah called out. Derek raised an eyebrow to ask if he trusted the technician and at Noah’s nod he shut the door behind him and he said, “Look I wouldn’t interrupt if it wasn’t important but the men that were killed in that mass animal attack seven years ago all worked for Gerard Argent, Kate’s father. He was claiming to be brokering peace talks but he was using the meeting to find out the locations of several well-hidden packs. My mother refused to attend and that put the other packs on alert.”</p><p>Noah asked, “Any casualties other than the hunters?”</p><p>Derek nodded, “One of the other alphas lost a beta to an Argent hunter who jumped the gun before the peace talks, he was a teenage nephew of the alpha. He bit my best friend Paige without her consent in an effort to replace his beta.”</p><p>Noah grimaced, “She died of bite rejection?”</p><p>Derek wriggled his hand in a so-so motion, “That was what killed her in the end, yes.”</p><p>Evie scowled, “I will order the full case files from storage and see what else was swept under the carpet, Sir.” She glanced at Derek and hesitated before asking, “I can also request the case files for the Hale Fire.”</p><p>Noah shook his head, “No, I think I will go and dig them out of storage myself. If the Argent’s are bribing people to close the cases as accidents it stands to reason they will be monitoring things electronically too. I also want to talk to DA Bushnell about what we can do legally about the bribery.”</p><p>Evie agreed, “I will keep my records to paper for now.” She looked apprehensive before she said, “Maybe mention the electronic monitoring to Stiles.”</p><p>Noah frowned and he said, “You know I don’t like him looking into my cases.”</p><p>Evie rolled her eyes and she deadpanned, “I’m aware, but you can't ignore that he knows some very talented people.”</p><p>Derek saw the moment the penny dropped when Noah said, “Danny. Right, leave it with me.”</p><p>Derek asked Evie, “Are you…?”</p><p>She shook her head, “No. My grandmother was a siren so I was made aware of the supernatural world from a young age just in case.”</p><p>“Are there others like you in Beacon Hills?” Derek asked.</p><p>Evie nodded, “There is actually a large supernatural community but they mostly keep to their own groups. I know we have a few other deputies who are aware and one who is a lamia. Beacon Hills has always drawn in the supernaturally inclined. Until the fire that killed your family, it was always seen as safe for our kind.”</p><p>Derek nodded with a look of sorrow on his face, “Sorry.”</p><p>Evie walked up to Derek and gripped his face in her hands and she growled, “No, you have nothing to be sorry for kiddo. Lay the blame where it belongs, with that Argent bitch who started the fire and your mother for being a shit alpha and leaving you prime for Kate’s machinations. You weren’t the first Kate tried to get close to in the pack and your mother should have been the alpha she was raised to be and kept you safe and aware. That's on her, not you.”</p><p>Derek nodded in muted acceptance as she said to Noah, “I know a therapist who is in the know. I will email through the details.”</p><p>She left the room in stunned silence as Noah grinned, “She is a lot to take in but she has a point. You need all the therapy, Cora probably does too.”</p><p>Derek shrugged and he wanted to change the subject, “Let’s finish the statement so it's recorded but keep it on paper for now until Danny can confirm it’s safe.”</p><p>Noah nodded and they got to work on the statement.</p><p>-x-</p><p>They spent the rest of the week working on control for Stiles. They were a bit lost as to why Jackson was showing no signs of impending werewolfyness beyond his increased ability to hear and night vision. They had tried everything they could think of to get him to flash his eyes or even pop a claw or two but nothing had worked so far. They decided if he still hadn’t shifted after the full moon they would do more research in the vault.</p><p>Cora settled into their group at school with little fanfare and she helped Jackson and Danny keep people away from Stiles while he was coming to grips with Scott’s death, none of them were looking forward to the funeral on Saturday. Noah had offered to help Melissa in organizing the funeral but she said her ex-husband Rafe was helping her and they were fine.</p><p>Noah warned Stiles to stay out of Melissa’s way at the funeral tomorrow but Stiles was already one step ahead. He had dropped off some of Scott’s things to her earlier in the day that Scott had left at his house and he took Danny and Jackson for support. He explained, “She smelled of so much anger. Like she blamed me for Scott’s death.”</p><p>Noah scrubbed his hand down his face and he gripped Stiles by the shoulders as he said firmly, “His death is not your fault. Hell, Scott was older than you and you were not his parent. He told you he would be doing his homework that night, it wasn’t on you to sit on him to make sure he did it. Ok?”</p><p>Stiles nodded mutely as Jackson wrapped him in a comforting hug. He murmured, “He’s right. It’s not your fault or even his mom’s fault. It’s entirely his own fault that he was out practicing at night, in the winter, when he knew it was bad for his asthma.”</p><p>Jackson dragged Stiles upstairs, they were going to be late to Lydia’s party if they didn’t hurry. Jackson dived into Stiles' closet and threw some clothes out at him before pulling some clothes out for himself. It was handy that they were mostly the same size.</p><p>Derek and Cora were waiting for them downstairs with Danny. They were taking two cars in case they had to split up at the party. Lydia latched onto Jackson as soon as he arrived and dismissed the Hales and Stiles as unimportant. Danny stuck with Jackson just in case and he kept an ear out for Stiles as they wandered through the partygoers.</p><p> Stiles picked up a cup of beer as he walked through the kitchen and he pouted as he remembered Derek explaining that alcohol doesn't affect them as the wolf burns it out of their system too fast for them to get drunk. He sighed, “Tonight is one night that I wish this worked.”</p><p>Derek pulled him in for a half hug and he wasn’t blind to the filthy look Jackson threw him from across the room. He just returned the look with a pointed glance at Lydia and a raised eyebrow. He figured the kid would work out what was going on in his head in his own time.</p><p>Cora leaned into after they had been dancing in the center of the group of teens for an hour and she asked, “How are you doing?”</p><p>Stiles grinned with only a hint of fang showing and he said, “I’m good. I can feel the pull but I have it under control for now.”</p><p>She asked, “How’re your ears coping with the volume?”</p><p>Stiles shrugged, “They hurt a bit but it’s expected right?”</p><p>Cora nodded her agreement and she pulled him close and she murmured, “Just say the word when you want to go. Derek is outside helping Danny keep an eye on Jackson.”</p><p>Stiles nodded and she saw his claws starting to pop and she added, “Probably best we go sooner rather than later?”</p><p>Stiles agreed, “How about now, we can leave Derek here with Danny to help with Jackson. I have my shift under control but I would rather be somewhere safe as the moons pull gets stronger.”</p><p> Stiles looked around before he muttered, “Let’s just go, Lydia won’t even notice we’ve left.”</p><p>Cora agreed and a bit louder so her brother would hear she said, “Derek, I am taking him to the vault, I will see you three there later.”</p><p>She dragged Stiles from the house and they jumped in Roscoe for the trip across town to the vault under the school. Stiles had already set up the area he would be secured in with a good book that was a magical duplicate so it wouldn’t matter if his claws tore the pages a bit. If he concentrated he could still smell his mother's scent all through the vault and especially on the books as she created the duplications.  </p><p>Cora saw the wistful look on his face after they had been reading for a while and she commiserated, “I can still smell the pack in here. If I concentrate I can pick out Mom and Dad, even Uncle Peter.”</p><p>“Have you been to see him yet?” Stiles asked gently, “I know Derek still can’t get close, he almost had a panic attack when we drove past the hospital to get to the diner the other day.”</p><p>Stiles stubbornly said, “We will keep trying. Why don’t you and I visit him this week? We can go after school while Derek is busy with probate stuff.”</p><p> Cora nodded absently and she checked her phone for any new messages. They had arrived three hours ago, and while Stiles had some control of his wolf and wasn’t about to run off into the night, he was now trying to read with claws and he hadn’t been able to stop his eyes from glowing gold for the last hour.</p><p>Stiles asked, “Any news?”</p><p>Cora shook her head, “Danny said he’s still not changing, they are going to bring him here anyway just in case as soon as they can shake him loose from Lydia’s grasp.”</p><p>Stiles muttered, “She’s just using him, she sees him as a status symbol. It’s more important to her to be seen with the right boyfriend, in the right clothes, and throwing the best parties. She wouldn’t know how to show affection if it hit her in the face with a brick.”</p><p>Cora agreed and she commiserated, “His wolf won’t stand for that.”</p><p>Stiles grumped, “If he has a wolf.”</p><p>Cora grinned, “He’s definitely something, we just have to figure it out.”</p><p>Stiles grimaced and he said, “Just make sure I don’t get out. I can feel the alpha calling, he feels desperate, feral but not.”</p><p>Derek, Jackson, and Danny entered the vault and Jackson said, “I can’t feel it, the call to join the alpha I mean.”</p><p>Cora asked, “Still no shifting?”</p><p>Derek shook his head, “Not even an eyeflash.”</p><p>Jackson said, “The only real urge I had was when Cora and Stiles left the party I felt them leave and wanted to go with them but Lydia threatened to go to my parents if I left early.”</p><p>Derek muttered, “She has an over-inflated ego.”</p><p>Danny explained, “She’s threatened by Stiles. He is a threat to her place as valedictorian, especially since Stiles skipped a grade in elementary and he can still keep up with her grades.”</p><p>Stiles ignored the discussion and he gritted out, “Jackson, can you join me in here. I need someone to ground me.”</p><p>Derek reminded Stiles, “Remember your anchor, concentrate and focus.”</p><p>Stiles mumbled with a pointed look to Jackson, “I am.”</p><p>Jackson slipped into the cell when Cora held it open and he sat beside Stiles on the bed they had set up. He whispered, “You ok?”</p><p>Stiles nodded, “The alpha's trying hard to get me to join him. It’s all jumbled though, it feels like part of him wants to kill and the other part just wants to run. What about you?”</p><p>Jackson shrugged trying to look like he doesn’t care but Stiles can scent his worry and agitation that his change isn’t working properly. Stiles pulled him into a hug and he whispered, “We’ll figure it out, Jax.”</p>
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